Nocturnal Entertainment
by Yuufa-san
Summary: "A principal of an esteemed school must be a formidable role-model for their students and staff alike." - A submission for Tumblr's "Ao no Exorcist Secret Santa 2016".


A principal of an esteemed school must be a formidable role-model for their students and staff alike. Not only do they shoulder the burden of the school's continued success on their shoulders, they're also required to be good at teaching, which isn't limited to pupils only. Teachers need to be shown how to handle certain matters as well, especially those new to the job. After all, a principal is there to guide and advise, to nuture and oversee. As if this wasn't enough already, they are also required to build and maintain a strong school community. A good atmosphere is necessary to keep everything running smoothly; if people start to get ill-tempered - which more often than not leads to uncooperative behaviour -, it would make everything much more of a hassle.

Throw in the additional work of being a honorary knight in the True Cross Order onto that huge pile - whilst also maintaining a barrier that slows down an artificial Gehenna Gate from inviting doom and destruction into Assiah - and congratulations: you are Mephisto Pheles, one of the Eight Demon Kings who is currently sitting in front of his laptop at 3 in the morning with even darker eye bags than usually. One might ask now, what is the King of Time doing at this ungodly hour? Was there still important work that needed to be done this night? Reports to be written, commands to be issued? An urgency to be handled delicately and swiftly?

If one were to look at the screen that Mephisto was currently staring at, it would be devoid of anything work-related. Instead, the screen displayed an online shop site filled with merchandise. Figurines, keychains, dakimuras - the list went on and on.

Mephisto Pheles, principal of True Cross Academy and one of the mightiest demons alive, was currently shopping to his heart's content.

In his opinion, he certainly deserved to indulge himself in his pleasures, as today had been especially demanding of him. Less so his principal duties and more so his responsibilities as an exorcist. It wasn't easy to juggle between dealing with authorities, the cram school in all its glory and his brothers' needs. Good lord, Amaimon had certainly caused him a lot of trouble this afternoon, what with nearly getting into another fight with Rin. It was honestly exhausting to tell his younger brother again and again that he ought to behave properly in order to stay outside. Sometimes, it felt like as if he was talking to a broken recorder. Younger brothers could be rather difficult at times, he concluded.

However, instead of focusing his thoughts onto past unpleasantries, he prefered to enjoy the present to its full extend. Sure, it was 3 am and he should be asleep, by all means, but that didn't stop him from staying awake nonetheless. As a responsible adult who paid for his bills and got all sorts of work done, he had every goddamn right to spend his free time however he wanted to. Then again, it's not like as if he would allow anyone to tell him what to do with his life - that was just absurd. He had always lived life on his own accord and that wouldn't change anytime soon, if at all.

As Mephisto was done shopping for himself, a sudden thought crossed his mind - what if he would buy his brothers a gift as well? After all, he had a secret mission going on; to convert all of his siblings into otakus.

Albeit a silly mission and by far not reaching the top of his list in accomplishing life goals - it would be futile to ask for the full list, as Mephisto did not like to play with open cards -, it was still something that he wanted to turn into a reality. He had already started with Amaimon, who had shown a decent amount of interest in this particular human culture. Luckily for him, Rin was also quite fond of mangas, at the very least. Even Yukio showed a moderate interest, albeit not nearly as big as the other two. Still, it was a start and progressed a lot better than what he could say about his other siblings. Especially Lucifer.

It was a shame, really. Humans have created and developed such fascinating things - how could you not try any of it out? If only they attempted it at least once, instead of wanting to burn this realm down because they experienced pain through their physical bodies. They missed out on so much fun and entertainment, he almost pitied them.

The idea of buying his siblings gifts solidified, Mephisto wondered what exactly he should buy them. It certainly wouldn't be something that they would outright enjoy without question - what would be the fun in that? No, he was still a demon and teasing and pissing off his brothers continued to be an enjoyable hobby of his. Maybe not the most unproblematic activity to pass time, but it was plain and simple fun.

(And there goes the converting part in favour of being a smug bastard. Well, wasn't the first time that happened.)

As Mephisto browsed through the site, he snorted at an article he just found. A mischievous grin formed itself on his lips, the King of Time chuckling amusingly as he leaned back in his chair. Gloved hands folded neatly underneath his chin while one of his legs went over the other to adjust his sitting position into a more comfortable one. "A dakimura printed on a dakimura? Oh, this is too good to pass up~", he mumbled to himself, ordering it immediately. Who would receive it, you ask? Well, he would bestow it upon Lucifer - his poor brother needed all the rest he could get, after all. One more pillow would certainly do the trick, no? Even more so if he would draw Lucifer's face on it with the inscription 'This could be your body'. Motivating, wasn't it?

He might have found this joke less amusing if he were more awake, but hell, he's already sleep-deprived enough as is. In this state, many things turn out to be suddenly far more hillarious than they have any right to be.

The next things he ordered were equally obscure - chopsticks that looked like ridiculously thin kunais, a white hoodie with a strange penguin motive (or at least that's what he is assuming anyway), an exceptionally badly drawn manga which makes him question how it got even printed to begin with… Anything that you would proclaim as 'absolutely weird' or 'downright bad' found itself in his basket.

When everything was said and done, Mephisto threw a quick glance towards the time - almost 4 am. Huh, time certainly passes by faster if you're actually engrossed in something. However, time was relative to him, given his powers. Still, it was a little realization that everyone had once in a while, even if you were the King of Time.

Finally deciding to turn in for the night, Mephisto shut down in laptop and maneuvered himself to his bed. As much fun it was to surf through the internet in order to find the strangest things humanity had to offer (he would never forget that one time he decided to browse through the deepest sections of fanfictions in one particular night), he knew that his body required rest. He couldn't completely exhaust himself, not with everything going on. There were demons to defeat, Illuminati's to be outsmarted, people to be observed - Mephisto truly had a lot on his plate. However, he was a skilled multi-tasker - and one who enjoyed to be involved in so much fun. (Assiah continued to be the best playground he could ever hope for.)

As he layed down on his bed, his mind wandered back to all the stuff he had ordered. Oh, what wouldn't he give to see each and everyone's initial reaction upon his gifts! It would be a riot for sure - especially if he went through with the one he came up with for Lucifer. He might reconsider tomorrow, as this would definitely cause his brother to pop more than one vein. But for now, he simply entertained the thought, the mere possibility of it happening. That alone was amusing enough.

After all, Mephisto was already accustomed to sit back in his chair, sip on some delicious tea while watching the world around him fall into utter chaos. It was always a great pleasure to have the front seat on such extraordinarly exciting shows. Even an entertainer wishes to be entertained and life just happened to be the best stage.

But for now, the stage would have to wait as Mephisto slipped into the gentle embrace of darkness.


End file.
